[Echo]

Let me sum up 90% of the replies so far:

Overrated: anything I can't afford, or anything by a company that's not currently rated as "core" (cannondale). Of course everyone dissing c-dale would give oral pleasure to Chase's bike if they saw him in person.

Underrated: Everything I own now, or anything I got from a sponsor.

That about cover it?

 

[ChrisRobin]

Overrated: 5th Element
King headsets
Thompson seat posts
Underrated:Romic
Shimano disc brakes

Ah, interesting post.

Why do you think 5Es are overrated and Romics underrated?

 

[dropmachine]

5th elements feel like flabby ass, Romics feel like Tight 18 year old buns.

I have a manitou on my PDC, and it feels dead. So do 5ths.


Fox is where its at.

 

[CBJ]

Overrated - CBJ's helmets

Underrated - CBJ's skull :love:

Sad but true.

 

[360]

overrated:
Fox40
Hope
Hadley
E13
D2

Underrated:
05 Ex823
Saint brakes
Moto lids
Tune
Racing Ht


p.s i have owned/own everything listed

 

[schwaaa31]

Ah, interesting post.

Why do you think 5Es are overrated and Romics underrated?

Just personal preference. I like a more lively feel to my suspension. I personally think the 5th feels like poop. maybe I never had it set up right. Thats another thing, too many adjustments. I'm a simpleton. The Romic fits that bill perfectly.

 

[PatBranch]

How are moto lids overrated?

 

[punkassean]

King components may be overpriced but they are not overrated. Anyone who thinks a headset will make them a better rider is confused, but it's partly because of King that there are so many good options out there. And what about their hubs is overrated? They are light, durable, fully serviceable, and work great. The only thing to complain about is the price.

Overrated: Sitting at your computer telling people to go ride. :mumble:

Also overrated: Dual control, rapid rise/low normal, singlespeeds in the mountains, riding without a helmet, dissing other trail users, and shuttling your huge ass DH bike with full gear on trails people ride on XC hardtails - up and down, often faster.

Underrated (here): Road bikes, fixed gears, campy parts, and 8 hour epic rides.

pretty much completely agree!

 

[biggins]

How is Nicolai overrated? More than half of the biking world has no idea who the hell they are...D

most of the dh people know about them and i know tons of xc riders that do as well. i think they are overrated because they are insanely priced and basicallyt have no warranty. they are big chunky heavy and suspensio feels like crap (it may have been the setup though cause i was quite a but lighter than the guy who owned it).

 

[biggins]

No love for the local boys, eh? I guess MH is a polarizing personality. Never ridden the bike, but it looks nice and I mostly agree with their philosophies. My wallet doesn't agree with their asking price, though.

nope its not that i dont have any love or any problem with either of them at all. i do think that being limited to a 24 inch wheel is one big factor the other being the price. i understand how it would cost that much but i think it was still too much for a steel frame even though it was a small company.

however i hear their cogs that they are making are the badass cogs and from looking at them they are damn fine peices of work as well.

 

[Brunettes]

Overrated:
armor suits that cost $250+
anything Troy Lee
paying big money for helmet painting
making posts in the winter just for the hell of it
changing frame design every year


Underrated:
Racing
eastcoast
groms
realizing how much you spend every year then driving past an MX shop and wonder why?

 

[atrokz]

most of the dh people know about them and i know tons of xc riders that do as well. i think they are overrated because they are insanely priced and basicallyt have no warranty. they are big chunky heavy and suspensio feels like crap (it may have been the setup though cause i was quite a but lighter than the guy who owned it).

wow that's a clueless post.

 

[360]

How are moto lids overrated?

if your talking to me i think you'll find i put that in underrated.

 

[MOTODH]

Overrated:
armor suits that cost $250+
anything Troy Lee
paying big money for helmet painting
making posts in the winter just for the hell of it
changing frame design every year


Underrated:
Racing
eastcoast
groms
realizing how much you spend every year then driving past an MX shop and wonder why?

Pretty good ones here

 

[ChrisRobin]

most of the dh people know about them and i know tons of xc riders that do as well. i think they are overrated because they are insanely priced and basicallyt have no warranty. they are big chunky heavy and suspensio feels like crap (it may have been the setup though cause i was quite a but lighter than the guy who owned it).

They are expensive because they're made by hand with extreme detail and not mass-produced. They're like Ferari's. Plus it's easier to get your hands on them if you live in Europe...kinda like Orange.

Last I read, they had a 5 year warranty even under race conditions.

As for as heavy goes, depends on which frame you're talking about. Any frame with the Rohloff/G-boxx in it is heavy.

A lot of the people that used to have Nicolai frames and then sold them, wish they never did.

This thread is getting irritating.

 

[dropmachine]

whoa, not a real fair analogy there.

Ferraris are fast, sleek and light. Nicolais are not, at least not he DH bikes.

What Nicolais are is a testament to almost fanatical detail, with a company that puts thier ideals before the bottom line. They build bikes they way they want them built, with tons of detail and love put into the frames, and nobody is rushed to complete the job. Does that make them better? Thats debatable, but i'll admit they are quite impressive to see. I have yet to see a light nicolai, although i'd imagine the XC ones are pretty good. The DH ones are tanks, no arguing that, even the ones without the G-Boxx.

THe UFO gets me excited in the worst way though.

 

[Echo]

The only time I notice the weight of my M-pire is when I load it on top of my car.

 

[klunky]

The only time I notice the weight of my M-pire is when I load it on top of my car.

Why, Do the windows on your car smash when you do that?:devil:

 

[ChrisRobin]

whoa, not a real fair analogy there.

Ferraris are fast, sleek and light. Nicolais are not, at least not he DH bikes.

What Nicolais are is a testament to almost fanatical detail, with a company that puts thier ideals before the bottom line. They build bikes they way they want them built, with tons of detail and love put into the frames, and nobody is rushed to complete the job. Does that make them better? Thats debatable, but i'll admit they are quite impressive to see. I have yet to see a light nicolai, although i'd imagine the XC ones are pretty good. The DH ones are tanks, no arguing that, even the ones without the G-Boxx.

THe UFO gets me excited in the worst way though.

Oh ok, I was comparing them to Ferraris in terms of how they're not owned by every second person.

 

[Spunger]

I think it depends where you ride. I'd only base this on bikes that I've seen rather than E-speculate which ones are great and which ones suck.

We have Giant, Trek, Specialized, Cortina, Kona, Scott, Santa Cruz and Gary Fisher sold in our local stores. Not all of them are DH bikes mind you. But......for a DH/FR bike I'd have to say I don't care much for the Kona's, Giants, Trek's, Scotts, or Kona's. LOL that's all our stores sell so that's what I see the most unless someone who is into biking has a bike that isn't sold here.

The only plus to buying one of these "hyped" brands locally is the support for small parts. It doesn't mean they will have them on hand but atleast it's easier for them to get if the have good relations with the company. That goes for Kona's mainly.

Most under-rated I'd have to say is the Specialized stuff. I just got a frame so I am bias, but not only is their stuff proven in the DH/FR world but their warrenties are top notch. The warrenty alone is enough for me to pick up a Demo or Enduro frame. Where else do you get a 10 year (or lifetime whatever it is) on a $2500 frame? Not many places are doing it. Especially the high end frame makers. Made in the U.S.A or not it's still my $2500 dollars. So ofcourse I am going to want to most for my money.

This thread is sorta stupid though. It's all a personal prefrence. So because I ride a M1/Shiver/Hayes/Arrow DHX's that I am riding "over-hyped stuff" when it works for me? There's so many different choices out there it's just what you like and what works. As far as brakes go you could run Shimnao/Avid/Hayes/Magura/Hope. There's some that are "more trendy" than the others but at the end of the day they all stop you. They all work. So just use what you like and what works.

 

[bikenweed]

Overrated: inovation.
Underrated: perfection.

 

[SuspectDevice]

Overated- the entire mountainbike industry

Underated- FBM

 

[intensified]

Underated = a derailed thread, hence most urated/orated Frame...
turns into all ideas and what not around biking (not a bad thing at all).
for me:

Urated:; the correct tool for the job when I have it, Good tech support,,,Protection that works,,My 2 fave frames of ALL time I own and love M-3 and my c'dale prophet.

overated:; riding when I don't feel like it, ,,Pads that don't work good,,,support the LBS (the one around the corner from me is the WORST),,the racer/hucker deabate, I have buds on both sides, very lame i don't care about the religious debate that goes with it (ride and let ride) that also spills over to the clipin/flat debate,,

 

[BMXman]

They are expensive because they're made by hand with extreme detail and not mass-produced. They're like Ferari's. Plus it's easier to get your hands on them if you live in Europe...kinda like Orange.

Last I read, they had a 5 year warranty even under race conditions.

As for as heavy goes, depends on which frame you're talking about. Any frame with the Rohloff/G-boxx in it is heavy.

A lot of the people that used to have Nicolai frames and then sold them, wish they never did.

This thread is getting irritating.

although I respect Biggins opinion...I think he's dead wrong on this one. Nicolai is one of the few companies that really believe in their product and care about the quality of what they sell....They don't make a frame until you order it....No mass producing frames on standby.

Every frame is made specifically for the buyer. They are also one of the few companies that do custome geometry. Which is why I doubt I'll ever sell my 2MX even though I don't ride it anymore and it's just hanging on the wall....I can't remember how many times I would be riding around somewhere and DH and XC folks alike would ask...What kind of bike is that...Nicolai!...Who?...D

 

[ChrisRobin]

I can't remember how many times I would be riding around somewhere and DH and XC folks alike would ask...What kind of bike is that...Nicolai!...Who?...D

I was expecting a lot of people on the westcoast to know who they are...Nope! No one's heard of Nicolai here. Maybe because I'm only on Vancouver Island (and not on the mainland) and people here only ride Norco, Santa Cruz and Kona.

 

[rigidhack]

Overrated: BLING

Underrated: Rigid steel bikes

Call Sinister overrated if you want to, but I have not ridden any bike that feels as good to me as a Splinter does.

 

[wingman24]

canfield f1 most underrated of all, best bike available

 

[dump]

I was expecting a lot of people on the westcoast to know who they are...Nope! No one's heard of Nicolai here. Maybe because I'm only on Vancouver Island (and not on the mainland) and people here only ride Norco, Santa Cruz and Kona.

nobody's heard of nicolai regardless of location... unless perhaps if you personally know someone that has one... and that's perhaps 50 people in the whole world